Daughter of the Hunt
by FanOfArtemis
Summary: Leah is a 16 year old girl whose life gets turned completely around in one day. All of a sudden, she finds out not only is she a half-god, but the only daughter of Artemis. She discovers she has a lot to choose between friends, love, and honoring her mother. All OC's, and my first fic! Rated M for language and sexual references.
1. Chapter 1

My breath labors as I round the final lap of my mile run. Crossing the finish point, my hand flies to my watch and hits stop. My time is 6:30, not my best but well enough for the day. I walk around the track slowly, sipping water every so often. I'm not on our track team, but I love to run. If I want to do exact distances I go to our track at school, usually in the early morning. Today is foggy and gray, like most mornings in my town.

My name is Leah Atalana Robinson. I'm 16 years old and I live in Richmond, Virginia. My father is a Professor of Zoology at the University of Richmond. He loves everything wild, from camping to climbing mountains. We used to do pretty much everything together and he taught me all I know about the outdoors. My mom left when I was little. Dad says that she was even wilder than he was, and he couldn't keep her around long enough. He says I look like her though, and I've got the silver bracelet she forgot when she left I always wear. I've got long dark blonde hair and green eyes. I'm not very tall or short, around 5'6. My legs are long though, good for my running.

I begin to walk to the bleachers where my gym duffle rests. I sling it over my shoulder and pull my phone from the side pocket glancing at the time. Its 7:10. Usually I'm done much earlier but its Saturday and I don't need to race the clock for school.

"Excuse me?" A voice calls out. I glance up. Its Mr. Allen, the school's Algebra teacher along with being the track coach.

"Yes?" I answer.

"Oh its you Leah. Listen, you really shouldn't come here on the weekends unless you're a member of the team. Besides the gate was locked." He says. I shrug. Gates haven't been known to stop me.

"Sorry." I say. Out of the corner of my eye I notice a guy around my age stopping and glancing at us from the street corner. He turns away.

"Have you given any more thought to joining the team? We could really use someone like you." Mr. Allen said.

"Sorry, but I don't think the team is really for me." I say and smile apologetically. For some reason he flares and looks really angry, angrier than I've ever seen him. I didn't realize my turning down the team again would upset him so much.

"I think you should join us." He says, stepping closer. I'm beginning to get more than creeped out.

"N-no that's okay Mr. Allen." I step back. Seriously what is going on with him?

"JOIN OR DIE." He yelled and as he did so his body began to morph and change. His snout elongated and his arms grew into legs. I blinked hard and stepped back. I had to be dreaming. Mr. Allen couldn't be turning into some huge snarling dog. He was bigger than I was, and no doubt seemed to have the full intent of killing me. As he lunged I jumped and rolled out of the way. He shifted and lunged again. Before I could react, something slammed into me and pushed me out of the way. I lay for a second before leaping up and saw the boy that had been standing on the street corner. He held up a brown bow and was launching arrows at the massive dog. They bounced harmlessly off his side. The dog kept advancing towards me.

"I can't kill it!" The boy yelled at me.

"Why not?" I yelled back stepping sideways. "What the fuck is it?"

"Its Laelaps, a giant fucking dog. Its hunting you which means you have to kill it, I cant!" He pulled out a knife and drove it into the flank of the dog, and it absorbed on contact.

"How do I kill it?" I asked.

"Look, I'll try to get on its back and distract it. Grab my bow and arrows and do your best to kill it. Got it?" He asked, tossing the bow and arrows toward me. He pulled its tail and swung up onto its back.

"Don't fucking stand there, shoot!" He yelled. He pulled out another knife and plunged it into the dog's eye. This time it howled before the knife dissolved. Without warning, it swung its massive paw at my legs and knocked me back into the wall before the bleachers. I shook my head and rose, pulling up the bow and arrow as the dog advanced towards me.

"That was my last knife, so if you wanna shoot, any time would be great." The boy yelled as he wrestled trying to hang on the dog's back. I breathed. I drew up an arrow and held it, somehow knowing how to do so. I let out my breath and launched the arrow right at the beast's throat. It made contact and the dog gasped for air before collapsing on the ground and disintegrating into sand. The boy stood up and from the ground and grimaced slightly. All of a sudden I became aware of a sharp pain in my left leg. I wasn't conscious when I hit the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

I drifted in and out of consciousness for a while. Sometimes I heard voices and other times I caught glimpses of images. Fuzzy green leaves and a blurry face. My mouth always tasted bad for some reason. Once I was able to hear clearer, distinct voices.

"-not to late to clean her memory in the Lethe and send her back." One said.

"You know that wont work. They'll keep coming for her. I'd rather not risk you again my boy. This was supposed to be an easy assignment for you."

"It was easy. If you would just let me-."

"You were supposed to bring her back unharmed. I understand Laelaps was unexpected but you could've handled it and brought her back in one piece."

"When will she wake up?"

"Hard to say for sure. For all we know she could be listening to our every word." The two people got up and their voices faded as they walked away. I fell back into the darkness.

…

When I finally woke up for good I found myself on a couch on a balcony that was overlooking the sea. I looked down at my body and found I was dressed in soft gray sweatpants and a white tanktop, neither of which belonged to me. A table to my right held a vile looking orange substance. I noticed I no longer felt pain in my left leg, just a tingly sensation. I looked left and found the boy that had been at the track when the dog attacked. So it hadn't been a dream. He stared at me. I noticed for the first time that he was remarkably good looking. He had a lanky, but muscled figure. His jaw was strong and his hair was straight and brown, on the longer side. His eyes were light brown and his skin was evenly tanned. He wore a pair of jeans and a green t-shirt.

"Are you really awake this time?" He spoke carefully, studying me.

"I think so." I said. "Unless I'm dreaming."

"You aren't." He said. His eyes continued to search my face.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Garrett. You're Atalana." He said with certainty.

"That's my middle name actually. My name is Leah. How did you know that though?" I asked.

"You talked a lot for the past day. Barnes had me listen to you. Do you remember what happened?" He asked.

"I remember that dog and you were there and you saved me. And I shot the thing and killed it and now I'm here." I said.

"Close, but you're forgetting a few things. After you shot the dog, you blacked out. I found out you had a broken leg and brought you here, to Alkimos Skolia, in Virginia. Don't worry about your dad by the way; we've notified him that you're here. I'm supposed to take you down to Barnes now that you're awake." Garrett said.

My mind was reeling. Who was this kid? Who was Barnes? What was Alkimos Skolia? Before I had time to ask a single one of my questions, Garrett spoke again.

"Can you stand up? Your leg is fine now, but you might be a little unstable. Mending bones is draining on the body."

I slowly pushed myself into a sitting position and stood up wobbly. Garrett was immediately by my side, concern in his face. I wondered why he was so worried about me. I stabilized myself and began to walk slowly back into the bedroom that the balcony was attached to. The room was painted sky blue, and all the accents were white and clean. Walking through the door led me into a long hallway, with other doors on the lining the walls. I guessed they contained rooms like my own. Towards my left at the end of the hall was a large window looking out towards the ocean. To my right was a massive staircase leading both up and down.

"We have to go downstairs. Can you walk down them?" Garrett asked. God, I wasn't some 5-year old kid who broke her leg. I ran track, I wasn't a wimp. Still, the stairs took some time to get down as I moved slowly. Garrett chuckled softly and tried to turn it into a cough.

"I'm sorry, I'm really slow I know, okay?" I laughed. He smiled at me.

"You're actually doing a lot better than I thought you would. But seriously, do you want me to carry you?" He asked.

"I'm fine really, it'll just take me a really, really long time." I said, glancing at the rest of the stairs that seemed to lead into a living room-type area.

"Yeah, well, I have other stuff to do besides watch you walk down stairs." He grinned. In one swift motion, he picked me up into his arms and carried me down the rest of the way to the bottom of the stairs. He set me down and I blushed. He snorted.

"Don't act all embarrassed, who do you think carried you here?" He asked.

"Where exactly is here?" I asked.

"I'm not allowed to tell you anything technically. Barnes will explain." Garrett answered, gesturing towards the living room. I sighed softly and stepped through the door.

**Author's Note: Thanks to those of you who have been reading this! If you like what I'm writing so far be sure to review and follow please :) This is my first fic and I'm going to try to update at least once a week hopefully, it depends on how much time I have and how much I feel like writing. Thanks again!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Before I begin this chapter I would like to say that this is basically my idea of what Camp Half Blood would be like if I had designed it. Future chapters will explain more of everything along the way. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a review or pm me. But honestly just try not to overthink it a lot. Thanks!:)**

_**I do not own anything that resembles Camp Half Blood. All credit is given to Rick Riordan for writing TLT and inspiring me. All OC's are mine. **_

The living room was slightly dim and covered with a plush, almost shag-like carpet. It looked strangely out of place considering most of the furniture was old and Victorian-styled. Most of it was pretty beat up though, and a man sat on a striped couch looking at maps on the coffee table. He glanced up at us when we entered the room. He looked to be about 60 or so, but in incredibly good shape and he had close cut silver hair. I could only assume that this was Barnes.

"She's awake finally." Barnes grinned at Garrett. He nodded.

"She's walking and everything. And she has a shit ton of questions too. Naturally." Garrett seemed to shift into a much colder person in front of Barnes.

"That is impressive, I agree. What questions do you have? If you don't mind, I'd like if you started at the beginning of your questions." Barnes said, his blue eyes staring at me.

"Well, uh, what exactly happened?" I asked.

"You were attacked b Laelaps, m'dear. Assuming that you've never learned much about Greek history, Laelaps is a dog that wont stop hunting its prey until it succeeds in killing it. Of course Laelaps never used to be massive, and he also couldn't morph into a human form. That question remains unanswered. Anyway, Garrett here was assigned to follow you and eventually bring you to this camp _unharmed_ but did not count on Laelaps." Barnes glared at Garrett, who shifted his eyes away.

"But why did I pass out?" I asked.

"This may come as a bit of a shock to you, but you are half Greek god. However, you've lived your whole life under the impression you are no different than any other girl, which managed to keep the monsters away from you until now. It should've kept you safe for the rest of your life, but it seems you are an extremely powerful half-god; one of the 12 main Olympians. The shock of seeing a monster from part of the Greek history combined with the fact that your leg shattered caused you to pass out. Think of it as the equivalent of Superman and kryptonite. It only happens to demigods that have never been exposed to such things before, and can sometimes even kill them. You seemed to have managed a very mild case, however. You were only unconscious for 4 days." Barnes said. I struggle with what he has just said. A demigod? Do those exist? Still, all things considered this doesn't seem so far out of the realm of possibility.

"But how can I be a 'demigod'?" I asked carefully.

"You saw Laelaps right? Only a demigod could see that. You also managed to kill him, which is another question entirely of its own. Have you ever shot a bow, m'dear?" Barnes asked. I shook my head. Garrett grunted.

"I still say she's Athena's, regardless of her shot." Garrett said.

"Nonsense. Hey eyes aren't gray, nor is her hair blonde." Barnes replied.

"That doesn't mean anything." Garrett snapped.

"Wait. Are you saying my mom is a Greek goddess?" I said.

"Yes." Both Barnes and Garrett answered. Things started clicking in my mind. All of a sudden it made sense why my mom left before I ever knew her, and why she never wrote or called and why my dad was never angry or bitter about her disappearance. Oh no my dad.

"My dad knows about this, right?" I asked.

"Yes. He also knows who your mom is, but refuses to tell us anything. Of course, you can't be sorted until she claims you anyways. By sorted I mean assigned your cabin and what activities you'll do here." Barnes said, looking deep in thought.

"Where is here?" I looked around. What a strange place.

"Alkimos Skolia, the Alpha School. We take in demigods and train them, whether or not they choose schooling activities or training activities, we prepare them for the outside world. Naturally with the power you seemed to possess, we'd have to put you in the Heroic class-."

"Wait you think she's ready for Heroic classes already? She just got here!" Garrett said.

"She'll be fine." Barnes looked at a worn-looking watch on his wrist. "Well, I really must be getting back to work. Garrett, she'll be staying with you and your cabin mates in Apollo. Answer any questions she has. Don't talk back to me." Barnes said the last part as Garrett started to protest.

"Fine. Come on Leah." Garrett quickly moved out of the living room into the hall and out the front door.


	4. Chapter 4

I stepped out the door behind Garrett onto a wide porch that overlooked a clearing surrounded by a forest. The air smelled like it always does near an ocean, salty and warm. The sun hung lower in the sky, and I guessed it was around 4 pm or so. Towards the left near some cliffs leading to the ocean were a few buildings and a circular arena surrounded by a quarter mile track. A few kids looked like they were fighting in the arena, while another was running laps. The middle area straight in front of the cabin had tables for what looked like eating, archery stations, and an obstacle course. Over more in the woods and by a beach area that was partially hidden by trees was what looked to be like cabins. Very nice looking cabins, that is. Throughout the whole camp, kids were walking, talking, or practicing. Garrett started off towards the cabins.

"I was thinking I'd show you where you'll be staying until you get claimed by your mom and then show you the rest of the camp." Garrett said.

"Alright. Barnes said something about you being from Apollo?" I asked.

"Yeah he's my dad. I've been at this place since I was 8 years old. My dad claimed me when I was 10, which is actually sooner than most kids around here. I'm 17, by the way. This place has been my whole life for almost 10 years." Garrett said, surveying the camp.

"What about your mom?" I asked. He tensed at the question and his eyes darkened.

"She and I never really got along very well." He said simply.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-." I started.

"Its fine. It's not a big deal or anything. Barnes took me in and took care of me until I was old enough to start training. A year from now I'll be able to choose if I want to keep training here or go out on my own." Garrett cut me off. I looked at him, wondering why he seemed to want me to know only parts of his story. At that point though, it was too late. We had reached the first cabin.

"This one is Zeus's." Garrett said. I stared at the cabin, but it was more like a mansion. It had warm, tan walls and red tiled roof. It looked like something out of a Spanish villa. The windows arched cleanly and revealed rich-looking colors on the inside. A tree near the entrance held a cocoon swing, which a dark-haired boy sat in. He held a sketchpad and kept his eyes down.

"Who is that?" I whispered to Garrett.

"That's Jake, the only child Zeus has currently claimed. He's a nice kid, and absolutely brilliant at running, but he's really quiet for the most part. Come on, the rest of the cabins are this way." Garrett said, taking off.

The next cabin was nearly opposite of the first. Gleaming white walls and modern lines made up the entire building. Square windows were placed on the walls geometrically, and a keypad rested outside the door. I wondered what was inside the mansion from outer-space.

"This is Hephaestus's cabin. He personally designed it, after a few of his kids a while back blew up the original cabin. They've got the nicest features of any of the other cabins. Of course, they made it all themselves." Garrett said. We continued on our way.

The next cabin was very pretty. It was also modern styled, but it was made out of wood that had been polished until it glowed. White and silver accents adorned it, and the roof itself was white and shone brightly. Large glass windows covered many of the corners, facing towards the ocean. The top floor was a small square and enclosed by gauzy curtains.

"This is Artemis's cabin. No one ever stays in it besides the Hunters, or her eternal maidens that follow her around on all of her adventures. From what I've heard, everything inside is eco-friendly and a lot like nature. Should be, too, since she is the goddess of the hunt." Garrett looked admiringly up at the building.

"You seem to wish you lived there." I smiled. He grinned back.

"I appreciate Artemis. She's not afraid of anything, and she can actually get things accomplished around Olympus. Better her to have a nice cabin than someone like Ares." Garrett shrugged. We came up to the fourth cabin and Garrett started towards the door.

This cabin was nice, but not as nice as the previous three. It was large, and colonial style. It had a big wraparound porch and white siding with dark blue shutters and doors. A few guys were tossing a football around while a girl read a book on the porch swing. I could only assume that this was the Apollo cabin.

"This is where I live. Its one of the biggest cabins we have, but right now we only have about 15 kids claimed by Apollo. I'm cabin-leader. You have to stay here and be a part of our cabin until your mom claims you. We have tons of open rooms, so you won't have to bunk with any of the girls here." Garrett said, pushing the door open. A large staircase wound up three levels to the top of the house. The floor was wood with old and frayed carpets lying on top of them. I didn't get much time to survey the rest of the room until Garrett motioned for me to follow him up the stairs. He stopped on the second floor and walked down to the final door on the end of the hallway. He paused at the door before opening it, then turned the handle and moved past to allow me to see. The room was light yellow and had a double bed pushed up into the corner against the window. A desk sat in the corner next to it and contained a lamp. A dresser sat next to the door. The floor was still wood, and was covered with a small area rug that had blue and yellow flowers on it. Overall, it wasn't as nice as the room I woke up in, but it was pleasant enough. The dresser reminded me of something though.

"I don't have any clothes." I said groaning.

"Yeah your dad said he would ship them. Tell you what though, I'll introduce you to Kalyn later. She's a daughter of Athena and one of the nicest girls around here. I'm sure she has something you can borrow, she's been dying to meet you too." Garrett smiled.

"Really? How come?"

"She thinks you might be a daughter of Athena too."

"Oh, well, cool. I guess." I said, somewhat uncomfortably.

"She's great don't worry. Besides, the Apollo cabin is throwing a party tonight and I somehow don think you'll want to be wearing sweatpants and a tank top." Garrett smiled teasingly.

"What, are you saying that this isn't party material?" I asked, pretending to be shocked. We both laughed.

"Come on, let's go find Kalyn." Garrett said.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: I am so sorry I didnt update last week! School has been crazy and a lot of other things have been going on, so here is chapter 5! It is short, so I'm going to see if I can finish up the next chapter tonight. Thanks to those of you that have followed, reviewed, and read it!**

As we came closer to the arena, I noticed the track surrounding it wasn't a normal track. For starters, the kid that was running around it seemed to be chased by some time of fireball. Instead of hurdles, there were spikes that alternated shifting underground and suddenly springing up high.

"Extra challenge." Garrett nodded towards the spikes. We walked over the track into the sandy inner circle where two kids were sparring with wooden swords.

"Hey, Kalyn, guess who finally woke up!" Garrett said. The smaller figure turned and said something to the other kid before the two walked over.

When I could finally see Kalyn's face, I saw that she was beautiful. Not the type of beautiful that people disagree on, but the type that makes everyone stop in the street and say "Wow". She had darker skin and black hair. Her eyes were startlingly gray, framed by her helmet that trapped the rest of her hair inside. Those eyes made the rest of her delicate face seem stronger, more angled. She took of the helmet as she stopped by us, releasing the rest of her hair. Kalyn smiled, revealing a row of straight, white teeth.

"Hi, you must be Leah." Kalyn spoke with a slight Australian accent. She extended a small, but callused hand and I shook it and smiled back.

"And you must be Kalyn." I said. She nodded.

"I have to say I'm sort of surprised to see you out, Garrett thought you wouldn't wake up for at least another day. He was going to miss his own party." She grinned at Garrett, like she knew something I didn't. He cleared his throat.

"Leah, this is Max." Garrett said, and the other person offered me his hand, but kept his helmet on and I couldn't see his face at all. He shook my hand, holding it carefully because his were massive and strong. His arms were tanned and well defined.

"Kalyn, Max and I are going to go check out the scene for a little bit. Leah, don't let her mess with you too much." Garrett winked and walked off with Max. Kalyn turned towards me, with a glint in her eyes.

"So, Leah, you and Garrett?" She asked.

"Um, what about me and him?" I replied, laughing.

"Please, you're all he's talked about since he came back with you. He pretty much lived in the House until today, except for meal time and if he had to go to a class." Kalyn grabbed a water bottle off the bench near by and drank some.

"Really?" I asked. I was surprised. Garrett didn't seem like the type to spend lots of time with one girl, but maybe that was just the impression I had. He certainly seemed to be close to Kalyn.

"Yeah. They say sometimes when a Healer spends a lot of time working on one person, they get kind of attached. I swear that seems to have happened to him." Kalyn rolled her eyes and laughed.

"He healed me?" I said.

"Definitely, he's the best Healer in the entire camp. And now that I see you I can understand why he chose you to get attached."

Garrett had only seemed friendly to me. Still, Kalyn didn't seem like the type of girl to waste time or lie about something. Both of which were rare qualities to find in most girls my age.

"Hey, I don't want you to be creeped out or anything. Garrett is a really cool guy once you get to know him; he's like my little brother. Don't believe what any Aphrodite girl says about him, especially Melanie. But whatever, I'm getting sidetracked here. Garrett said you needed clothes until your stuff ships, right? I got you covered; you look like you're my size. Gotta look good for the party right?" Kalyn smiled and finished her water bottle before grabbing a bag and walking back to the cabins, motioning for me to follow.


	6. Chapter 6

"We'll have to eat dinner and do the bonfire before the party, so I'll give you something regular to wear too." Kalyn said. We walked fast, talking about what we liked, where we were from, how we ended up at camp. Kalyn said that she had a great life back at home, she and her dad were really close, and she came to camp only to train harder. She used to come only part time, something that Barnes had always frowned upon. We passed the cabins until we reached one that was made up of many small cabins attached together, somewhat vertically, like on a mountainside, stairs leading up to a door on each one. A larger cabin was nestled in between them.

"Welcome to the Athena Cabin, or should I say cabins. Perfect for studying and having time alone, or joining up with your friends in our main library. Sorry, that's what I have to say if we ever get a new member here. My room is this one over here, c'mon." Kalyn stepped towards the stairs that led up to a pale yellow cabin with a pink-orange door. She pushed the door open and stepped inside.

It was small, but cozy and neat. A small bed was shoved against the corner, and a large desk with a computer opened to some type of chart was pushed next to a bookshelf that looked ready to collapse underneath all the weight. The walls were the same color as the outside, and the floor was wood. A door led to a small hallway that has a bathroom through one door and a closet through the other. Kalyn opened up the closet door, revealing a small, square space packed neatly with clothing. She flipped through the hangers, seeming to be searching for something until she came up holding a tribal-patterned sundress.

"Definitely this for dinner, but for the party…I'll have to figure that out later. Maybe I could borrow something from Ashley?" Kalyn mumbled to herself.

"No, its okay this is perfect I love it, I can just wear it to the party." I said. I really did love the dress, the colors were brilliant.

"No way, that is not party material, but don't worry, we'll figure it out." Kalyn smiled. "Now, go change and then I can fix your hair and makeup. I can't tell you how long I've been waiting to do someone else's prepping honestly, none of my cabin mates will let me."

I walked into the tiny bathroom and pulled off my tank top and sweat pants. I slid the dress over my head quickly and walked back out. Kalyn still was in the closet but paused to hand me a pair of tan sandals. I took them and thanked her. A few minutes later, she walked out, wearing a white linen dress, her curly hair loose around her face.

"Wow, that dress is clearly not meant for me." Kalyn smiled at me.

"You look amazing. I wish I could pull of white dresses like you do." I said back. She smiled back and began to set up her makeup bag in front of the mirror.

"Here, sit down right here." She said, and nudged her desk chair. I sat down and waited for her to come over.

"Okay, close your eyes, I don't want you to see anything." Kalyn said. I closed my eyes and she brushed my face with something, and then my cheeks. She traced what felt like eyeliner in a thin line on my upper lids.

"Okay, now I'm going to do your hair." She said. I nodded, eyes still shut. She came around behind me and began to braid my hair, slightly to the side that favored my bangs.

"All done. You can look now." Kalyn said, tying an elastic around the end of my hair. I looked into the mirror and was astonished to see that I no longer looked like I had been unconscious for 4 days, rather I had been outside, enjoying sunshine. My face was golden and warm, with tiny brow wings of eyeliner on my lids. Kalyn had braided my hair in fishtail braid, loosely. I looked natural, but a much better version of my natural self. I rarely wore makeup, and if I did it was maybe a little bit of mascara.

"Gods, your gorgeous." Kalyn said. I laughed, knowing Kalyn was probably the most jaw-dropping girl alive. "Garrett is going to eat his heart out looking at you."

Hearing that I suddenly had tiny butterflies in my stomach, thinking of Garrett. Did he really like me? I shook my head, I shouldn't be thinking about him, we barely knew each other after all. Kalyn glanced at a clock above her head.

"We'd better get going, dinner and the bonfire will start soon." She said. Together we walked out the door, back to the open area with the tables.

**AN: Next chapter will be in Garrett's POV. I might try to switch the POV around a lot depending on who I feel like writing for, so try to bear with me a bit. Thanks again for reading and following and reviewing! I love you all :)**


	7. Chapter 7

I sat with Max on a log next to the fire pit as kids streamed in for dinner and the fire before the party my cabin was throwing, unbeknownst to the staff. I thought about Leah, and what was going on with her and me. She was my first real assigned recruit, to take care of. She was also the first person that I healed majorly, beyond the minor flesh wounds I dealt with for the most part. I kept thinking about what Barnes had told me before I left to watch out for her a month ago. The thing I failed to do.

_"Garrett, here's your first recruit. Her name is Leah, 16 years old, expected to have powerful attributes. Definitely Big 12 material here, boy. There could possibly be a monster following her, but we aren't sure yet. Keep and eye on her for a while before you say anything at all to her. And Garrett, above all else, you need to keep her safe, you understand me? If anything happens to this girl like what happened on your last quest, I can't give you anymore second chances. This girl needs to be in one piece, protect her at all costs."_

I thought about how she fell down when that massive dog had finally been killed. I had seen enough of her running to know that passing out never happened to her, especially not for something that wasn't a big deal. All I could think of at first was that Barnes was going to kill me; my career had officially ended because I wasn't able to keep this girl safe. I cursed at myself when I first picked her up off the ground, before something shifted. I had never seen her as close in person as I did then, and I realized that she wasn't another stupid assignment Barnes had given me. She was a living girl, and the Healer I was had to help her.

I took care of her between getting her to the school via train, to practically living by her bedside. Barnes would've been upset if I hadn't, but at that point I was fully consumed in taking care of her. Kalyn kept saying something about a bond that can form between a Healer and the person they heal sometimes, but I'm not so sure. I've Healed lots of other people before, just none quite like her.

"Dude, relax." Max said out of nowhere. I looked up, realizing I had been digging my nails into the log.

"Sorry, I'll try." I said back. Max shook his head.

"Whatever. You've been acting kind of weird since that girl showed up. Hey, I think I'm going to skip out on this bonfire thing and just come to your party later, cool?" He asked.

"Yeah, sure." I said. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts and walked back towards the cabins. As soon as he was out of sight, Melanie took his spot on the log. Melanie is 16, Aphrodite cabin. We've had an on-again, off-again thing since last year, but aside from getting to second base a few times, we didn't have much in the way of chemistry. She was hot, Id admit. She had straight blonde hair, a nice body, the works. Surprisingly, she was also smart. Most of the girls out of the Aphrodite cabin seem to be airheads, something I could never understand as to why Aphrodite made them that way. Unfortunately, Melanie had a habit of taking her incredibly talented brain and putting it to the use of being the camp bitch. I'd never gotten serious with her because she wasn't my type, and she refused to let it go. The last thing I wanted to think about tonight was her.

"Hey, Garrett, long time no see." Melanie winked and slid in closer to me.

"I've been busy." I said back shortly. The sooner Melanie left, the sooner I'd be able to concentrate on anything but Melanie.

"So, listen, I've been thinking. How about we ditch the party early and go up to your room tonight?" She asked, smiling flirtly.

"Uh, I actually, have, uh, this thing-," I started to say.

"Garrett's busy tonight. He cant miss his own party." A voice spoke. Recognizing the accent, I looked up gratefully at Kalyn. She smiled at me, and halfway glanced towards Leah, who stood next to her.

I was stunned. I guess I had kept seeing Leah so much that I hadn't really registered the fact at how pretty she was. Her subtle, even features were framed out by her braid and her dress showed off her legs and arms. Girls that were into fitness were definitely my type. I couldn't take my eyes off her.

"Oh, by the way Melanie, this is Leah. She's new and staying with Garrett." Kalyn introduced Leah. I smiled inwardly. Kalyn had always hated Melanie, and vice versa. Nevertheless, Melanie smiled fakely back and shook Leah's hand.

"Its great to meet you. I'm Melanie, from the Aphrodite cabin. Well, I guess I'll see you later then, Garrett." Melanie winked and walked off into the crowd.

"Honestly, Garrett, Melanie? That girl is the worst." Kalyn rolled her eyes. A cabin mate of hers called her name and waved her over.

"Excuse me for a bit." Kalyn walked away, leaving me alone with Leah. Things with her certainly seemed easier before I realized how pretty she was.

"How come Kalyn hates Melanie?" She asked me, sitting down on the log.

"I'm not really sure. I know that they compete a lot though, both are always first or second in pretty much everything they try." I shrugged.

"I can understand that." Leah said.

"How come?" I asked. She laughed.

"Don't you get competitive? Just wanting to be the best, to prove something. I swear, you can't shake it." She smiled at me.

"Yeah, I guess you could say I'm competitive." I answered. The truth was I was insanely competitive. I was first in class for nearly everything the camp offered. I supposed it was my way to deal with the fact that growing up I wasn't wanted. People wanted me now though.

"So, Melanie, is she an interest of yours?" Leah asked. Whether she was playing it cool or genuinely unconcerned with my relationship status, I couldn't tell.

"Not really. We've made out a few times, aside from that, not much. She isn't my type." I stretched my legs out, leaning back on the log.

"What is your type then?" She asked, kind of flirtingly.

"I like girls that are different. Melanie is pretty much cookie cutter material." I said back. Kalyn cut our conversation off by walking back and announcing dinner was ready. Melanie shot Leah a disapproving glance when she laughed at one of my jokes during dinner. The more Leah began to open up, the easier it became to be around her. When the sun went down, I handed her my jacket when she got cold. Melanie wasn't being subtle anymore, she was staring at us. The vibes I was getting from her made me uneasy about throwing this party after all.

**AN: Be sure to review, favorite and follow if you'd like :) I love getting reviews from you guys, it helps me want to keep writing. Thanks, love you all!**


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